Harris Barton, a veteran offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers football team, saw his career end when he busted his ankle at the start of the 1998 season. But it turns out he stumbled into the heart of the Silicon Valley money machine.
Sidelined and whiling away the time with fellow former 49er Ronnie Lott, Barton caught an epiphany born on the Bay Area breeze: There were a lot of pro players with piles of money, and if they pooled the piles, they'd have leverage to get in on some sweet pre-IPO deals in the Valley.
Barton already had an in with some of the VCs at Sequoia Capital. Lott had other connections. The two started making the rounds of the VCs on Palo Alto's Sand Hill road.
On Monday, they unveiled the results: Champion Ventures, a US$40 million technology venture capital fund run by Barton and Lott, and solely financed by other big-name pro athletes, including Dan Marino, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, and Barry Bonds -- 99 in all.
Champion Ventures is technically a fund of funds, meaning all the athletes' cash will be funneled into other venture funds. In this case, it will be 10 of the Valley's most prestigious -- funds a million investors would kill to get a piece of.
"We approached the VCs with something unique," said Barton, a graduate of the University of North Carolina. "We said, 'You can use these [athlete/investors] as you see fit, to help brand your companies, at special events and so on.'"
The pitch to the athletes was a snap.
"We said, here's an opportunity to get involved with the next 400 top companies," Barton said. "This isn't a one-off thing. This isn't your neighbor's car wash."
OK, it wasn't quite that easy. "You have to take all that gobbledygook that comes out of Sand Hill road and boil it down to something that a 21-year-old athlete can understand."
As in: Harris Barton will make you rich.
A big payoff is only part of the appeal, Barton said. "In the athletic world, when a guy hits 30, he's pretty much done in pro sports. Most guys want an opportunity to work."
What better place to work than one of these red-hot tech portfolio companies?
"Take a guy like [49ers' defensive lineman] Junior Bryant. He's a really smart, well-educated guy -- he'd be a perfect fit for some these portfolio companies. Not as an engineer, obviously, but in marketing or something else.
"I said to these guys, 'Here's your chance to meet some of the smartest people in the world and invest with them.'"
Champion Ventures has already proven a full-time replacement for Barton's football career. Lott, a television football analyst who attended the University of Southern California, is a full partner, but not a full-timer.
The two are taking their role as fund managers every bit as seriously as the Super Bowl.
"What's at stake here is Ronnie's and my reputation," Barton said.
